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The Real Foods Guide to Pulses

Pulses are brilliant sources of protein, (meaning they are of particular use to people who don’t eat meat, fish or dairy), they’re also great for extending meals, throw in a handful to casseroles, stews and soups to provide extra nutrients and stretch the meal further. Pulses are also excellent sources of iron, starch and fibre in your diet. They are cheap, low fat and extremely tasty! Here’s our guide to our range of pulses and ways of getting the most out of them.

Simply put, pulses are peas, beans and lentils that have been harvested to be dried and sold as food. They’re also sometimes referred to as leguminous cereals. A portion is around 80 grams (roughly 3 tablespoons), and counts as one of your ‘five a day’, only one, however, you’ll still need to eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg to stay healthy!

Pulses are brilliant sources of protein, (meaning they are of particular use to people who don’t eat meat, fish or dairy), they’re also great for extending meals, throw in a handful to casseroles, stews and soups to provide extra nutrients and stretch the meal further.

Pulses are also excellent sources of iron, starch, complex carbohydrates and fibre in your diet. They are cheap, low fat and extremely tasty! Soluble fibre makes you feel full which may reduce your appetite, helpful if you are watching your weight.

They can help to reduce cholesterol (reducing your chances of heart attacks and strokes), manage diabetes and lose weight. Pulses are useful reducing blood sugar spikes and lowering blood pressure, they are also a great source of folate (an incredibly useful B vitamin). People avoiding gluten or wheat can happily eat all pulses.

A simple way to prepare them is to toss with a little olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and fresh sage. Add salt and pepper to taste. For the best flavour, let stand about an hour to combine the flavours. Try adding them to pasta, rice dishes and soups.

They're a great source of protein and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins A, B1 and B2.

White beans like Cannellini are the most abundant plant-based source of phosphatidylserine (PS). PS helps to improve the performance of athletes, reduce endocrine stress and may be beneficial for kids with ADHD.

Small, oval and creamy-white., with a mild flavour and smooth almost buttery texture.

Often called a Navy Bean due to being a staple food of the US Navy in the 20th century.

The classic ingredient in baked beans, they have little flavour of their own but are brilliant at absorbing flavours and seasoning making them perfect for slow cooked dishes like cassoulet or bean soups.

Of all the beans these have the richest source of ferulic acid (an antioxidant) and p-coumaric acid (another antioxidant and possibly reduces the risk of stomach cancer).

No (If you want to you can soak for around 6 hours and it will reduce cooking time by half an hour roughly.)

Simmer for up to an hour

If soaked 45 mins ought to do it

Pressure cooker 1 minute

Cook the split peas for 20 minutes if you want them to be relatively crisp for salads; 30-40 minutes if they will be added to a main dish; and 40 minutes to an hour if you are making soup or intend to puree them.

No (if you do want to soak them don't use baking soda to soak split peas it will turn them into a watery purée!)

Simmer for up to an hour

If soaked, 45 minutes ought to do it.

Pressure cooker 1 minute

Slightly more delicate flavour than their green counterparts. Apart from that, they can basically be treated the same (see above)

Used in daals, soups, pease pudding and dips as they break down fairly quickly and rarely retain any shape. Also used in Fava ( a popular Greek dish) simply cook down with water and a little salt and drizzle olive oil and sprinkle some raw chopped onions over before serving.

Dried peas are also a very good source of dietary fibre and a good source of manganese, copper, protein, folate, vitamin B1, phosphorus, vitamin B5, and potassium.

Yes (minimum of 12 hours recommended by NHS - 7-9 hours recommended for best results making soya milk* paper here from research gate)

3-4 hours

Must boil for an hour then simmer for the next 2-3 hours to destroy all toxins and ensure they are fully cooked

Pressure cooker 35-40 Mins

Pre-soaked - pressure cooker 20-22 mins

A small, pale yellow bean. Widely grown and subject to some controversy due to GMO and animal feed uses

Used to make fermented foods in Japan and Asian countries, soy milk, tempeh and soybean oil is also created from them.

Often used in curries and popular roasted with spices for a crunchy snack. Try a bean burger.

A high antioxidant food. Contains isoflavones that may reduce cancer risks. Also high in phenolic acids (another antioxidant phytonutrient). May help support bone health through its good amounts of vitamin K. Contains all 8 essential amino acids.

Nope. Lentils, Aduki, Blackeye and Mung Beans can be cooked from scratch without soaking, however, they may well still benefit from soaking (it stops the shell from cracking and removes any impurities). In addition, soaking reduces cooking time. Lentils do not need to be soaked but it will reduce their cooking time by around half.

A little extra care is required for Soya and Kidney Beans as if they are improperly treated they will release a toxin! Nothing that soaking and cooking properly won't easily prevent, but be aware they do need to treated correctly or used from tins (where they are pre-cooked).

If you cook them too long they'll form a paste (handy if you're trying to make a dip, but less so if you want the actual texture of the bean!) Cooking times vary depending on the freshness of the bean, the size and the heat. Checking regularly is the only way you'll find out what works for you.

You'll get more of the nutrition, sometimes the tinned or canned beans can contain additional salt or brine which dried ones won't.

You'll also save a lot of money. Like-for-like dried and canned beans are roughly similar in price, however being as most beans will swell up to around 2.5 times their original size, that's how much you'll be saving. E.g. A tin of chickpeas is around 350 - 400g and anything from 70 pence to £1.50. To get that from dried you'll need around 100 - 150g of chickpeas, anything from 50 to 70 pence. At Real Foods the more you buy - the bigger the discount, so if you're going through a fair few tins of beans it's well worth looking at our buying dried beans. Having said that, storing a couple of tins in the cupboard is always a useful addition to extend meals or throw a quick dip together.

Sort and rinse the beans. This means spreading them out and checking any debris has been removed then rising in a sieve or colander under cold running water.

Soak the beans. Beans will cook in less time and more evenly if they are soaked first. Not all beans must be soaked. Lentils, Aduki, Black Eye, and Mung beans can all be cooked from scratch. This doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from soaking! Just that they don’t need to be.

Most beans will need a minimum of 4 to 12 hours of soaking in fresh, cool water. Discard the soaking water. Or try a ‘quick-soak’ method.

Quick-soak - Simply cover with a few inches of water and boil for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, leave for an hour and then drain.

Drain and rinse well. Cover beans and leave an inch or so of fresh water, you'll need 3-4 cups of water for each cup of beans or pulses. Each cup of dried beans should yield around 2-3 cups of cooked beans.

Cover, bring to the boil and simmer with the lid still loosely covering (it stops the water evaporating too much.) Basically, the length of time it takes depends on how fresh the beans are, their size and the pan and heat you're using. The best idea is to test them often. You'll soon see what works.

Skim if necessary.

Consider using a pressure cooker if you have one. They dramatically reduce cooking times. Use high pressure for all dried pulses.

Add seasonings such as bay leaves, onion, garlic or bouillon as you start cooking, but leave the acidic ones until near the end as they can impair the tenderness. Acidic foods include tomatoes, vinegar and lemon juice.

Basically, not much! All beans, peas and pulses belong to the legume family, known as Fabaceae or Leguminosae. This is a family of flowering plants with often edible seeds. Peas are often from the Piser genus, Beans are usually from the Phaseolus or Vigna genera, all of which are members of the legume family. Just to be confusing Chickpeas aren't a pea, they're a bean. Whilst Broad Beans? You've guessed it they're really a pea!

Liquorice, alfalfa, peanuts and carob are also all members of the legume family (so it does make sense to say many beans have a 'nutty' taste!) Pulses is the name often used to refer to the dried seed of these plants (or indeed the plants themselves).